Jayalalithaa thanks Mamata for supporting her PM candidature

Kolkata: AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa on Friday called up Trinamool Congress (TMC) counterpart Mamata Banerjee to thank her for saying that she was open to supporting the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister if she wanted to become the Prime Minister.

The two leaders also discussed the Lok Sabha elections and the post-poll alliance possibilities, Trinamool sources said.

A day back, during an interview to a national television channel, Banerjee was asked whether she was open to backing Jayalalithaa if the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister wanted to become Prime Minister.

"I have no problem. I don't bother about the chair," Banerjee replied. Jayalalithaa's call also came a day after the collapse of the seat adjustment talks in Tamil Nadu between the AIADMK and the two communist parties.

Jayalalithaa offered one seat each to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state.

Unhappy with the offer, the two parties announced they were calling off their alliance with the AIADMK for the Lok Sabha elections and would contest alone in the state.

With the communist parties, who are Banerjee's bitter enemies, out of the way, the comfort level between the two leaders has increased, the sources said.

Another important aspect is their areas of influence do not clash.

The TMC, which has decided to field candidates in a number of states, opted to stay away from Tamil Nadu. Similarly, there is no AIADMK candidate in West Bengal.